


God, how I wish they had just been furries

by goopllmw, KuraKaw, threekingbelt, tinystreetlamp



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Blood, Cat/Human Hybrids, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Petty Andrew Minyard, Urban Fantasy, mention of drugs, non-graphic animal death, petty Aaron Minyard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:49:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23567122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goopllmw/pseuds/goopllmw, https://archiveofourown.org/users/KuraKaw/pseuds/KuraKaw, https://archiveofourown.org/users/threekingbelt/pseuds/threekingbelt, https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinystreetlamp/pseuds/tinystreetlamp
Summary: Slightly AU, in which the monsters are actually part supernatural creatures."The Monsters are just that, monsters, but they aren't all as bad as they seem. Aaron and Andrew are the most feared of all of them, but no one actually knows what they are, until Neil stumbles upon them and can't quite believe his eyes."
Relationships: Aaron Minyard & Andrew Minyard, Katelyn/Aaron Minyard, Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 7
Kudos: 76
Collections: AFTG Reverse Big Bang 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all this was written for the AFTG Big Bang in collaboration with the wonderful artist [goopllmw!](https://goopllmw.tumblr.com/) Go check her stuff out!
> 
> [goodbye_matryosha](https://archiveofourown.org/users/goodbye_matryosha) wrote a fic from the same prompt! Here:  
> [Caught You (Now I'm Gonna Scratch Up All Your Toys)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23534299/chapters/56446627)
> 
> Please, uh, enjoy this wild time.

Neil looked directly into the blazing end of his cigarette. Even as he turned his gaze away, the spots stayed with him for minutes. The familiar scent was a comfort as it sat heavy in his heart, the fickle warmth between his fingers as fragile as life.

The court was being transformed into a football field. The workers weren’t finished, and Neil drank in the last of the plexiglass walls marking it for Exy. It was technically too late for him to be in school, but here he was. It was safer to sleep in the locker room after all.

Neil closed his eyes. The glow of the cigarette added to the faint sting his sclera contact lenses brought with them. Maybe he should stop sleeping with them. His mother’s paranoia left a deep impression, and his eyes were everything but natural. His irises were completely blue, bluer than the sky. He didn’t have any pupils save those painted on his contacts, and where other people’s eyes were white, his were black. So, yes, the contacts were necessary.

He heard Coach Hernandez shuffle his feet before he cleared his throat. “Neil, you know you’re not actually allowed to be here this late, right?”

“Hey, Coach,” Neil chose to conveniently pretend Coach Hernandez hadn’t said anything. He put his cigarette out too, because he knew what Coach was going to comment on next.

“How are things at home?” Coach asked, like he so often did these days.

Quiet. Cold. Lonely. “Good. Normal.”

“I didn’t see your parents at the game. Were they away again?”

Neil tried very hard to keep from flinching away at the questions. He shrugged. “Yeah. Work.”

Coach let the silence surround them for a minute. “There’s someone here to see you.”

In an instant, Neil was on his feet. “Who? Why?”

Coach put up both his hands. “No police, Neil. Just… his name is David Wymack. He’s a coach at Palmetto State University, and I took the freedom to send your stats and tapes to him.”

Neil stared.

“Just… listen to him for a few minutes, all right?” Coach smiled and softened his voice. “He’s inside right now.”

“He’s _here?”_ Neil didn’t dare breathe. This was… this could be…

“Yes. Will you talk to him?” Coach turned to go back inside, giving Neil the choice whether to follow or run.

Neil could only nod. He followed.

Coach Wymack was many things that Neil knew him to be – determined, strong-willed, brave. He was also things that Neil did not know – travel worn, considerate, honest. Neil didn’t want to want to sign everything, so he tried to hold himself back, but Exy was the single thing left in the world that made him feel alive, and to have a chance to play in university… it was a dream he never allowed himself to have.

Until Kevin Day walked in and Neil remembered why college level Exy was a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Idea.

Kevin Day wore his green and black eyes with pride, with dozens of physicians speaking of a very rare genetic mutation that did not affect his eyesight at all, save for being more sensitive to light than the average person. Sunglass companies paid Edgar Allen University millions to have the honour of putting Kevin Day’s face on giant billboards. Neil knew all about it.

Now, Kevin Day was not wearing sunglasses.

Neil didn’t even think, he turned on his heel and ran.

All breath was knocked out of his lungs when something collided with his stomach. Dimly he felt his body hit the cold floor. Through the pain he tried to get his lungs to cooperate with him, but only when the spots in his sight cleared could he breathe in again.

_Fuck._

Andrew fucking Minyard stood above him, an apathic expression on his face, leaning on his goalie Exy racquet. Coach Wymack was berating him, sounding both angry and defeated. Kevin’s face appeared above Neil.

“Andrew, don’t ruin my striker. We need him.” Then he looked down on Neil, squinting his eyes. “Josten, I watched your tapes, I know you’re a good runner. Now, sign here,” he gestured with a stack of papers, “and I expect to see you in summer.”

Coach Wymack sighed. “Let him breathe, Kevin.”

“Um, I can’t,” Neil protested, but even he knew that it was weak. Kevin did not recognize him, and how could he? He only met Neil once, when they were children, and at the time Neil had eyes just like him and hair as red as the sunset. Now, Neil’s eyes were the same dark brown as his hair. Neil checked his roots twice every day and knew no red was visible.

Coach Wymack looked thoughtful. “A part of the team stays with Abby, our team nurse, over the summer. If you want to, we’ll book you a flight on your graduation day and you can spend summer on my couch.”

“You need the training anyway,” grumbled Kevin, but he shut up when Coach Wymack shot him a glare.

Neil looked at Andrew, who raised his eyebrows at him. A challenge, then.

“Yes,” he said, and tried not to notice Coach Hernandez’s smile.

* * *

Andrew stared into Neil’s eyes by a smoke-scented window. Light danced across his face. His skin glowing in the fading sun. 

Neil started back, his chin caught in a tight but distant hold. He let his eyes wander all the details of Andrew’s face as his own was scrutinized. He gazed at the faint freckles and white scars, at his lips so chapped it seemed like they’d never been licked and the one grey eyelash that bent the all wrong ways. But most of all he stared at Andrew’s eyes.

They were rimmed with a dark brown but the body of the iris was striking gold. Rivers and strings of honey slowly twisted atop a dark molasses The pupil was impossibly dark in the evening sun and whether a trick of the light or not, Neil thought Andrew’s pupils were oval like a cat’s, but it must have been a trick of the light.

Andrew hummed. “You’re wearing contacts,” he muttered. “Large ones.”

Neil startled and tried to pull back but was held tight. 

“I know what’s behind them,” Andrew said as Neil’s thoughts ran circles in his head, “but it’s alright, your secret’s safe with me, for now.” 

And he let Neil go. His own eyes narrowing, the gold minutely twisting around like it had a mind of its own. “Now get out."

* * *

The twins were weird. Neil had known that from the first time he had met Andrew and been swept off his feet... literally. But once he'd started hanging out with the monsters more, Neil had mentally moved the twins from _weird_ to _what the actual fuck_.

It wasn't the blatant and often uncalled for violence or even Aaron's love of biochem. No. It was times like these with the two of them getting into their catfights and hissing and slapping at each other. 

Of course, Nicky was no help. He was staring at them like the personification of the heart eyes emoji. When Neil had brought it up before, Nicky had given some nonsense answer about _sibling bonding_ and then had the nerve to turn to Neil with wide eyes and ask _isn't it sweet?_

No, it wasn't _sweet_ . Neil may have been an only child, and a human one at that, but nothing about Andrew launching himself off of the bunk bed at Aaron, the both of them going to the floor and then kicking each other in the stomach seemed _sweet_. But then, between his father and being on the run, he'd never had a cat either.

Still, everyone has their limit, and for Neil, that was one day when he was hanging out in the monster's dorm before evening practice; he just wanted to steal one of Kevin's oranges. He went to the kitchen to grab one and instead found Andrew sitting on top of the fridge, kicking Aaron in the face. They seemed to have been at it since Aaron had left to get ice cream five minutes ago or so, Aaron fruitlessly trying to reach the freezer and Andrew gleefully (or as gleefully as Andrew ever did anything) keeping him from it.

Judging by the way Andrew's pupils were dilated even more than they usually were with his meds and Aaron was somehow puffing all five feet nothing of himself up like an angry housecat, they would be at it for at least five more if left to their own devices.

Neil sighed loudly. Aaron didn't even turn around, and Andrew's eyes barely flicked away from his brother. Aaron of course took advantage of his brother's momentary distraction and lunged for the freezer again. This time, he at least got his hand on the door before Andrew was swatting at him with one hand, the other holding onto the fridge for support, and kicking at him with both feet. Blonde hair rumpled, Aaron backed off, hissing.

Aaron went back to the fridge, trying to get the ice cream again. At this point, he was clearly motivated more by spite than any real desire to reach his ice cream. Andrew looked to Neil, pupils dilated and eyes lidded. He somehow looked smug as the cat that got the canary, giving Neil a shit eating smirk without so much as smiling. Neil sighed again and sat down on one of the stools. He would get his orange… Eventually. For now, he resigned himself to waiting for the twins to get bored.

Neil rested his chin on his fist. “You know, you could at least let me grab an orange.”

Still staring straight at Neil making sure he knew he was being ignored, Andrew kicked at Aaron again. As if reminded of his fruitless pursuit, Aaron threw himself back at Andrew, hissing and spitting and trying to reach past his brother to open the freezer.

After several minutes with no one else playing with him, apparently Nicky had given up on his video game and come over to the kitchen to see what everyone else was doing. His shuffling startled the twins, and Aaron darted off. Andrew scrambled down off of the fridge and onto the counter top then hopping off that, knocking over at least five things in the process. Cereal containers and soda cans hit the floor as the twins fled the kitchen.

At least he could get his orange now. Neil picked stuff up off the floor, putting it back on top of the fridge and countertop; he put the sodas back as if nothing had happened. There was nothing to be done about the sodas, and if the cousins got sprayed in the face because the cans had gotten shaken up because of their own stupidity, they had no one to blame but themselves. With everything off the floor, Neil opened the fridge and pulled out a few oranges.

He placed his loot on the countertop and started peeling the first one. NIcky sighed happily, staring after where the twins had run out of the kitchen.

“Aren’t they cute?” Nicky asked.

Neil glared at him but got no reaction. Nicky just kept smiling and sighed again. Neil rolled his eyes and stuffed an orange segment in his mouth. Nicky had lost his mind and Neil had accepted that. If he thought that his cousins slapping each other repeatedly was cute, who was Neil to try to tell him any different?

“They’re fucking weird.” Just because he _shouldn’t_ say anything did not mean he wouldn’t. Neil had never let that stop him before.

Nicky laughed. “Yeah but they’re still cute. It’s a sibling thing. You wouldn’t get it.”

“You don’t have any siblings, so neither would you.”

Nicky opened his mouth before seeming to realize he had nothing to say to that and tossing a piece of Neil’s orange in his mouth.

Glaring at Nicky for the theft, Neil stuffed the rest of his orange in his mouth, making his cheeks puff out.

Neil looked at the microwave clock. Shit. they had to be at practice in 15 minutes. Luckily his class clothes were the same thing he wore to practice, minus the gear. He hastily peeled his orange and started eating it.

When Andrew came out of the bedroom dressed in his practice clothes and for some reason that Neil refused to care about, carrying an extra shoe, Neil temporarily stopped stuffing orange slices in his mouth and turned towards the doorway to glare at the blonde bastard. Andrew stared at him, eyes half-lidded, a strange mix of smug and manic. 

Gulping down his mouthful of fruit, Neil asked, “What the fuck, Andrew?”

Andrew merely cocked his head and slowly blinked at Neil before moving past him towards the door.

“If you are late, you can walk,” Andrew called over his shoulder before walking out of the dorm.

Neil stuffed the last of his orange into his mouth. Suddenly, there was a loud crash from the bedroom. A few seconds later, there was another clatter; then Aaron emerged. His cheeks were flushed, and he looked bright eyed and bushy tailed.

“That fucker stole my left shoe!”

Nicky came over and started mother henning, but Neil didn’t hear most of it, trying not to spew orange everywhere or fall off the stool from laughing too hard.

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

Neil showed up late to class. He had been missing it pretty regularly for the past month and had never had the time and energy to make his 8am calc lecture on the other side of campus. But today was different, today he had made an effort to get up and arrive on time. He had even gone for a short run when he first woke up. He had breakfast with Matt. He had made this goal and he was going to stick with it.

He left early, he planned to jog with his roommate, maybe grab some coffee on the way. If it had been a regular day he would have made it with plenty of time to spare. 

But it was just his luck that as he left his room and headed to the stairs, Matt at his heels, he heard a shout from behind the next door. Andrew’s room. 

It was Kevin, shrieking bloody murder as if he had just seen a corpse. 

Neil kept walking.

He almost made it to the stairs when he was flung back by a hold of his collar.

“Woah there buddy,” Matt said, quickly dropping the startled  **s** triker. “You are not walking right past that. Turn back around and see what’s happening.”

Neil glared and moved to leave again. “It’s their problem, I’m not going to be late because of Kevin’s murder. Check it out yourself.”

Matt grabbed Neil and forced him toward the door. “No way. If Andrew’s stabbing people in there, you’re the most likely person to make it out alive. The less deaths we have, the less Dan yells. Go.” And with that he shoved Neil inside. 

The first thing Neil saw when he entered was a shaking Kevin with blood stains on his shoe. When Kevin saw who entered he shot out his hand. “Oh thank god you’re here, I need some bleach.” 

“What the fuck is going on? What do you need bleach for?”

“The bleach is for my mind.” Kevin said. Then he added, “and the sheets. There’s blood on the white sheets.”

“The white —” Neil stormed to the bedroom. He flung the door open, “what the fuck is—”

There was blood everywhere. Laying on the ground was the full carcass of a deer. It’s neck was broken and covered with what looked at first glance like bite-marks.

Beside it was a grinning Andrew on the ground, his face covered in blood, and Aaron off in the corner, staring intensely at a disembodied deer leg in his hand.

Neil was shot back to his lessons with Lola, with dead animals just like this one. With blood. His heart raced.

“What the Fuck is going on here.” He asked, but it sounded more like an accusation than a question..

Andrew looked up at Neil as if trying to figure out what Neil’d done and not the other way around. “I caught it,” he said.

Aaron shrugged and hid the leg behind his back. Not that it changed anything, but the effort was there.

“Where’s Nicky?” Neil asked.

“He’s out getting coffee, he should be back anytime n—” Aaron was cut off by the distinctive squeak of the front door. 

“Guess who’s got the coffee…” Nicky sang, “I’ve got the — oh hello Kevin what are you going on the — IS THAT BLOOD? Where are the twins I am going to murder them if they’ve brought in another—”

The door opened, Nicky took one look at the body, and dropped the coffee.

“Shit! Look what you made me do. Why would you do this, why did you bring in a full sized dead deer into our room? I—”, Nicky looked like he was about to scream, “--I can’t deal with this right now. I’m leaving. I’m going to class. I’m buying myself new coffee and none for you. Jesus Christ why can’t you—“

He threw his arms up in exasperation and pulled Neil with him out the door. “Let’s get you out of that mess. Thank god you’re just a regular human. I am so sick of those guys’s…”

Andrew's laugh came from the other room. “Look again, dear cousin, he’s got contacts.”

Nicky let go of Neil's arms as fast as lightning and suddenly Neil was confronted with a very close Nicky staring into his eyes. He shuffled back but Andrew’s laugh reminded him that his secret was practically out, and Nicky was this calm about a dead deer. There goes nothing.

“Oh,  _ dear,” _ Nicky said. “Are you like Kevin? Please don’t tell me you like to collect dead things too.”

“Uh, no,” Neil said, unable to let his eyes flicker back and forth between the twins and Nicky.

Nicky took a step back, noticing Neil’s uneasiness. He nodded to himself. “This is fine. I am fine.” Then, he turned on his heel, shouting over his shoulder, “I’m not gonna clean up that mess!”

Aaron cleared his throat, finally having the sense to look embarrassed, but Andrew only laughed once more.

Andrew pointed a bloody finger at Neil. “You’re coming to Eden’s with us this week.”

Neil went for a run, hoping the wind would take the smell of blood and death from his memory. He didn’t succeed.

* * *

It had been a week since the incident. Since then nothing had passed between them on the subject, at least not to Neil, but he would often catch one of their eyes after a questionable act and a sense of awareness would pass between them. A week ago, these questionable acts could easily have been passed off as normal for the monsters and just another of their quirks. A week ago they might not have even been noticed. But now Neil would often catch himself wondering about the root of these qualities and find himself staring too long at one of the boys trying to analyze what once were everyday acts.

When Friday arrived, Neil wasn’t sure what to expect. His previous outing to a club with them had ended poorly to say the least. He hadn’t been planning on stepping back into a club anytime soon after his drugging at Barrage, but this time he had been promised answers, minimal drinking from most involved, and a different club. This time it was the notorious Eden’s. Like the last time, there hadn’t been any prior talk of the evening’s outing during the day, but Neil knew to anticipate the outing regardless. 

He was just settling down for a dinner of Dan’s vegan crackers, 2-week-old carrot sticks, and half a juice box that Matt had found and contributed to their common meal when a knock came to the door. Neil started to get up but Matt was already turning the handle and cracked open the door to see who it was. Matt was in rough standing with a few members on the team, notably Kevin, and had taken a confrontational greeting to any surprise guests. Still, when he saw who was, his shackles lowered minutely.

“Hi Matt, how are you doing, I’m just here to see Neil if I could just scootch on by you…” Nicky’s voice rang through the room as he pushed his way past the wary Matt and over to the table. “Ooh quality meal,” he commented through a mouthful of stale carrot stick. “I really appreciate the—” Nicky swallowed, “—immaculate cookery that’s been going on here. We should see if Kevin knows anyone in the cooking show business because I’m sure they would be  _ glad _ to have you.” 

“Nicky, why are you here? It’s not that I don’t appreciate your presence but...” Matt sighed from the entrance. 

“What? I can’t hang out with my best friends in peace? Oh, Matt, you’re breaking my heart.” Nicky pouted but shook his head and moved on. “As much as I enjoy critiquing your truly masterful attempts at introducing Neil to top-end cuisine, I really am just here to prep him for our outing tonight.” He placed a black gift bag in front of Neil, carefully avoiding some spilled juice on the counter. “I picked this out myself, I won’t do it again. If it ends up in the toilet, you’re going naked next time.”

This prompted Matt to move and he powered forward until he was almost in between the two of them. “Next time? There shouldn’t even be a this time! Last time Neil hitchhiked back if you don’t remember. I don’t care what you think you’ve roped him into but he’s not going.”

“Relax, Neil chose to come with us, we’ve been planning it all—”

“We both know that Neil doesn’t choose what’s best for him 90% of the time. He’s staying here.”

“Stay here and what? Eat expired vegetables? He’s coming with us today, it’s what’s best for him.”

“How do you know what’s best for him, clearly—“

“Matt.” Neil stood up and slowly pushed him back. “It’s fine. I want to go. I can and will make my own decisions about this and suffer the consequences myself.”

“But—“

“No buts. This is my choice.” He softened his tone, just slightly, “I promise I’ll be safe. I’ll text you updates when I can.”

“Every hour.”

“Every hour.”

“And don’t hesitate to call me about anything.” He held Neil’s gaze, “anything, okay?”

“Okay,” Neil affirmed and he watched Matt take his food with an exasperated curtness and head to their room.

Once Matt was gone, Nicky nodded. “No contacts, keep your eyes bare. You won’t need them where we’re going.” He interrupted Neil’s objections, “Andrew said so. Plus we all know anyway, there’s no use in hiding. We’ll pick you up at nine.” 

And with a final stolen carrot, Nicky left.

—

When nine rolled around, Neil was sitting on the couch with a blanket wrapped around him. His contacts were still in but underneath the covers he was wearing the obnoxious outfit Nicky had pulled out. He felt no comfort in the clothes he’d been gifted, but he took solace knowing that his outfit would be no more flashy than the majority of those in the club.

Under a white cropped top Neil wore a tight long-sleeve black shirt that cut off half way down his torso into a sheer black fabric. When he’d lifted the shirts out from the bag, his heart had dropped. He knew that in the darkness of the club his scars would practically be invisible, but just the thought of leaving his stomach so exposed made his skin crawl. When he wore them though, the mesh hid his scars almost completely, guarding them under the scratchy dark fabric. He resolved to wear the tops at the party when the night was dark, but in the dorm his arms were crossed and he hunched to avoid Matt’s gaze before retreating under the blanket.

The pants he could live with. Half blue tartan, half ripped black, they were tight but not-so constricting that he worried greatly about any hindrance on a running escape. The shoes were tall, black, and laced. They were a long shot from the battered runners he wore everyday, but they remained the most familiar part of the whole get up.

Nicky picked him up at the door with a few many once-overs and an angrily cheerful good-night to Matt. He, himself, wore a similar getup to Neil, a tight black shirt cropped mid-way and trailing into fishnet. His pants were stark black, his boots tall and unlaced. Neil felt a surge of resentment at the simplicity of Nicky’s outfit in comparison to the one he had chosen for the shorter man. Still, he appreciated the relative coverage he found in his long sleeves and shielding black mesh. With a bounce in his step, Nicky escorted Neil down to where the others were waiting.

Kevin, in his design-covered jacket and sleek black pants met Neils gaze before climbing into the passenger seat, his eyes were surrounded by glowing green patterns. Aaron only spared him a passing glance before heading over to face Nicky’s scrutiny.

Andrew was already in the back seat as Aaron and Neil joined him. Andrew had that dulled, sober expression on but watched intently as Neil climbed in, giving him a once down on the outfit but having clearly been watching out the window. Still facing Andrew, Neil took his contacts off and met Andrews eyes, his own fully unguarded for the first proper time in years. Andrew held his gaze for a long time, then nodded, and turned back to the window. In the dark of the car, Neil couldn’t make out much of Andrew’s outfit. But he could feel zippers and rough seams on the other man’s pants where their thighs pressed together. 

The ride was passed with Nicky’s attempts to fill the air with idle small talk or music and awkward silence after Andrew shut the attempts down. Neil spent the time wondering what was to happen during the night, but his thoughts were often interrupted by a pointed question from Nicky. They got lost once. They managed to get back on the right exit after waking a grumpy Andrew for directions, and after a stop at Sweetie’s for ice cream and a small cracker dust pick-up, they arrived.

Eden’s was a two-story club with a lineup stretching around the entire lot. It was bigger than Barrage, last time's location, by at least half, and the lines were packed with even crazier garments than before. There was the same leather, corsets, and chains that Neil had seen before, but this time the neon Fanny packs were complimented by claws and fangs. Neon paint accentuated scales and horns that jutted out from people, looking too real to be fake. Everywhere he looked he found wild, colourful eyes.

Aaron did a complex handshake with the bouncer, skipping the line and leading them in while Nicky parked the car. As they entered the second set of doors, Neil took in Andrew’s full outfit. Like Kevin he was wearing an annoyingly conservative full-black outfit with a beanie, sweater, high-rise converse and those ripped pants that Neil’d felt in the car. The dark of the outfit was matched by Aaron in his dark leather trousers and it’s mesh panel, and an oversized black shirt which Neil suspected would be normal-sized on anyone else. The only prominent light on their clothes was the white snap-back Aaron had pulled over his hair. 

Nicky bee-lined for an empty table near the floor but Andrew held him back by his collar. He tipped his head towards upstairs.

When they arrived at the second floor — which was more a balcony than anything else — Andrew snagged a table in the back and shot off a text on his phone.

Within minutes a youngish, sturdy man arrived carrying a platter of drinks. Nicky lit up when he saw him and tackled him in an enormous hug, almost making him drop the tray. As he distributed the drinks and sat down with them, he introduced himself as Roland, bartender on a break and friend of the group. He stayed with them and conversed heavily with Aaron and Nicky as they drank, both him and Neil abstaining. Aaron was positively glowing as he talked to Roland, Nicky exchanging gossip with him as the empty glasses soon replaced the full ones. 

During the idle small talk, Neil had taken the time to obverse Roland. Out of a mass of short black hair rose two small horns. He made no effort to hide them, rather having coated them with fluorescent paint and let them glow in the dark. He had 3 bright butterfly clips pulling his hair back to show them off further. With every flash of a grin, Neil caught a glimpse of fangs. But what was perhaps the most startling were his eyes. Yellow and bright they shone through the room behind wireframed clear glasses. His pupils were a long box like one found in the eyes of a goat, and surrounding them trailed out glowing designs from beneath his dark skin. 

Roland had caught him watching but only tipped his head in invitation for further gazing, so Neil had continued with little shame. He felt Andrew watching him, gauging his reaction as Nicky and Aaron chatted. He steeled his face against the evident scrutiny and feigned only plain interest. 

But he was scared. 

The eyes, the designs, the horns, they all reminded him of a past he had thought was only childhood dreams. He knew Roland wasn’t an affiliate of his father’s, he knew this was the safest way to get answers. But still his heart raced. 

Once the drinks were gone, Aaron led Nicky to the dance floor, Kevin trailing along after a steadying glance with Neil. Soon it was just Andrew, Neil, and the devilish stranger. 

They sat in silence, inspecting each other as the music blared around them, waiting for someone to break the silence. Roland cleared his throat. 

“I still have very little idea of what’s going on here, Andrew” Roland said. “Who is this?”

“I’m Neil,” interjected the one in question. 

Roland simply met his gaze. “And who is that?”

Andrew interrupted, “He’s nobody and knows nothing. Just give him the spiel and get over with it.”

Roland laughed. “Ah I see how it is. Just one question, is he… German?”

“Du bist Brot,” said Neil, “but I still have no idea what you mean.”

They ignored him. “Not that we can tell,” replied Andrew. “But you can see his eyes, take them as you will. I’m going to go check on Nicky. Text me when you’re done.” And with that he got up and left.

Roland sighed and shook his head. “That boy will be the end of me,” he muttered then turned to Neil. “I don’t know who or what you are but I’ve been booked off for the next hour. I’m assuming to talk, if that’s correct. Not that I’d be opposed to doing something else but--”

“Talking’s fine,” said Neil. 

“Of course, of course. I guess we’ll start with the basics, do you know where we are?”

Neil scanned the balcony and the dance floor below. He watched the bodies covered in oddities as they danced and drank. He turned back to Roland. “We’re at Eden’s. It’s full of people I don't know that are things I have never heard about. We’re in Columbia. The music is loud and we are surrounded by people making decisions they regret.”

“Will they regret it?” Roland asked. “Why would they regret being themselves for the night? Showing off their traits that would otherwise be hunted? Spending the night with people of their kind?”

“And what kind is that.”

Roland laughed, “oh you really must not know much. For ease, why don’t we start from the very beginning, if you’ll humour my story.

“You’ve heard of the bible, the stories of creation. Eden, the Apple, the sins of man? Of course you have, as has everyone. Believe it as much as you want, the details have been trampled by humans for millennia, but some truths still shine through.

“Long ago, humans were intertwined with powers now forgotten. They were touched, merged with animals and all the life on earth. Their entities, a powerful force of nature. It was a glorious, harmonious time. But it could not stay. Whether you believe in the apple or something else, the links were broken, the powers resigned to the other side of reality’s wall, and humanity was rendered into its current helpless state. 

“Or more so, that was the most approved interpretation. As it truly was, some links were cut off on the wrong side and were trapped, weak and defenseless in this reality. They tried to reach onto life on earth as they had once done in the past, but couldn’t manifest enough strength to fulfill their old power. Now their touches could only reach a few. They changed people in ways pathetic to what had once been. But in comparison to the rest of life on earth these changes were unfathomable works of gods. 

“Those first touched directly by the powers were deemed the Golden Ones and they were worshiped and loved. Their adventures shape the stories of humanity from around the world, from the Inca to the Japanese, to the Maori. As they lived and bred and raised their own, the powers passed on to the next generations. But as the lineages grew, so failed their powers, becoming weaker and weaker. The rest of humanity began to rebel against those who once were their heroes and forced us into hiding. 

“Still, our powers persisted, ever fainter, but there. Milennia passed and the world forgot about our true selves. The stories trampled and morphed into bedtime tales and folklore. We were metaphors and warnings. Whenever we were found out we were met with the same mortal hostility, leading to burnings and innocent deaths. Until we were forgotten almost all together. 

“Now we are weak, and hidden. Our bloodlines mixed so heavily with humans, the links so faint, that our changes are almost subtle now. I doubt there's anybody on earth who hasn't been touched by a power through the longest of diluted lineages. Still, only some of us carry these noticeable traits. Look around you, do you see the markings of gods? The claws, the colours? The bumps and the bruises of bodies long gone? We are the markers of this forgotten world.”

Roland paused. “That said, we may be no more linked to that ancient power than anyone else. Who are we to say? Who’s to say that every single distinctive trait of a person isn't just a different mutation of a long dead power.

“Eden’s is a safe place for those like us, those who still have to hide these parts of ourselves. A place to be free.”

Neil sat and digested that for a long time.

Many minutes passed before Roland spoke again. “I have to get back to my shift soon, do you have any last questions?”

Did he have questions? Neil was bursting with questions, about his family, about Andrew, about the past and the present and everything in between. He craved answers to every query in his mind, an explanation for all that had happened, but he knew he couldn't handle much more right then. “Why did you ask whether I was German?” He asked finally.

That earned a laugh from Roland and the mood lightened noticeably. “Ahaha, Germany was notorious in the past for producing strong animal-like hybrids, now it’s just code for any with predominantly animalistic traits.” He looked back conspiratorially in the direction Andrew had left in an hour before, “It was quite a trip learning that they spoke German as well. A coincidence definitely, but it makes you think. I mean, those two  _ are _ quite… feline in nature to say the least. But you aren’t that, you seem a lot more like Kevin and my type, a minorly devilish fellow wouldn’t you say? I’d watch out for horns if I were you.” He laughed again and stood up. “I'll tell Andrew that we’re done here, okay? He should be back to check on you in a bit, if you need anything before then just come down to the bar.”

And with that, he left, and Neil was surrendered, finally alone, to his thoughts. 

* * *

“So you found out.”

Neil startled from his contemplation. Nicky was already moving through the room, inviting himself to the spot next to Neil, slumped against the wall. He gave Neil a sympathetic grin and an unwelcomed pat on the back as Neil nodded.

“You know, you’re pretty lucky,” he said, “you’ve only known them for what, one month? Two? Usually takes people a lot longer to figure it out. Hell, it took me years.” 

“Must have been rough,” Neil mused. He removed Nickys hand from his back and leant away, but the other boy went on unfazed.

“They always were weird kids, you know. Well at least Aaron was, I just assume Andrew was close to the same. Crawling on all fours when no one was watching, pouncing on dust bunnies and pens. Nothing too unusual for his age, but noteworthy in consistency. It continued as he aged but he’d hide it pretty well. As his eyes developed and changed, he took up wearing sunglasses and would chew on his sweater strings. It was a habit Aunt Tilda hated but one she couldn’t change. She made him hide much of his signs for as long as she could.”

Neil watched Nicky’s face as he rambled on. His eyes, usually bright, now glowed in the fading gold light. He spoke with a quiet, nostalgic passion about their past, his eyes upturned just slightly and his hands painting shadows on the walls. He spoke with visible affection for the twins as he told stories of Aaron’s youthful misdemeanours and Andrew’s later contributions, a shadow passing over his eyes whenever he mentioned their mother. 

“Aaron was very curious,” Nicky grinned, “always picking things up and staring at them as if he could learn all their secrets with his eyes alone. His favourite curiosity was my great grandmother’s glassware which we kept in a display cabinet at my house. There was this one ornate wine glass, encrusted with jewels and designs, that was the most prized possession of the family.

“He must have been around seven when this happened, I had just been granted my own set of keys to the house, having just turned 10 myself. Our parents were on the porch talking, maybe drunk. It had been a sunny day and I wanted to take Aaron to the park. For whatever reason, I was denied on no uncertain terms.” Nicky chuckled, “to put it simply, I was filled with that type do pre-teen rage that comes out of nowhere with vows of revenge and that fades in under an hour. I had stormed into the house, headed to my room, only to find Aaron staring at the cabinet. 

“It wasn’t an uncommon sight but it stopped me in my tracks with a sudden idea. I asked him whether he wanted to hold the glass. He looked confused but nodded, probably having no idea what was going on. The cabinet was locked and only opened by adults and under extreme supervision. Still, I had a plan.

“I rushed to my room and grabbed my set of keys. Normally I wouldn’t have had a key to the cabinet. I surely wasn’t allowed. But you see, a few months prior we lost the key, and when the replacements arrived shortly after my birthday I smuggled one away to add to the bulk of my keychain. I hadn’t anticipated it coming in use so soon, but with a few wrong guesses I had the right key in the lock of the cabinet. 

“I opened the glass doors and pulled out the jewelled wine glass, passing it to the awaiting seven-year-old Aaron. He snatched it from my grasp and stared at it, rotating it around as he squinted at the refracted light. I must have watched him watch the glass for a good ten seconds before I heard the adults come back in. Aaron didn’t seem to notice, caught up so intensely in whatever he saw in that glass. I was scared to say the least, but I still felt the remnants of my anger and I made no move to hide the glass as the parents walked in.”

“My mother entered first and let out a scream, followed by my father and then Aunt Tilda. My mother made a move forward but father stopped her, scared to startle the entranced Aaron.” Nicky laughed and mimicked the young Aaron holding the glass. He widened and then squinted his eyes and pursed his lips, comically exaggerating the young boy. “Everyone was frozen, just watching him. Suddenly he seemed to lose interest and came to notice the others around. Before anyone could do anything, he looked my mom dead in the eyes, and with a bored expression, he lifted the glass. And he dropped it.” 

Nicky howled with laughter.

Neil could feel his face twitch.

Nicky regained composure. “As I said, they were weird kids. Lot of it got beaten out of them as they got older and by that time I had enough to worry about on my own. We didn’t see each other for a while. After Tilda and Germany happened, I was getting back into their lives and wondered whether the cat thing was still going on. Whether they were furries now. Turns out it was something I hadn’t even begun to imagine.

“Aaron figured it out first.”

Neil’s brows shot up, surprised.

Nicky laughed at the look on his face. “Yeah I wouldn’t have guessed it too seeing them now, but Aaron had good connections. He was in a tough spot and must have let his cat-ness loose while high with some friends. Apparently one of them mentioned it to an acquaintance named Craig who knew a bit about this whole thing and directed Aaron to a contact at Eden’s. That contact — was her name Shelly? Sharon? — laid it all out for him but it was Roland who actually helped Aaron put it all together. Aaron told Andrew a year later, and I learnt even longer after that. 

“Apparently I have some in me too, even smaller bits. All it does is give my eyes this useless shine and a couple other things you probably don’t want to know about. Regardless,” Nicky sighed, “it has been decently rough, in case you were wondering. I don’t know how to deal with them. I never had any formal education on cat care or whatnot. We’re just kinda figuring it out as we go.” 

He pulled out his phone and glanced at the screen. “Seems like they’ve gotten into more crap as we, or mostly I, spoke. I should probably go.” He got to his feet and pat Neil again, this time on head. “I’ll answer all your burning questions, and more, later.” 

He checked his phone one more time as he reached the door, sighed, then glanced back. “God, how I wish they had just been furries.”


	3. Chapter 3

Robin was having a completely normal day. Classes were boring, no new assignments were handed out, the other students were either panicking about midterms or gossiping about the football team’s freshmen – a bunch of rowdy tall guys with the brain size of a chicken egg – and Robin felt her thighs ache every time she had to use stairs to get to places.

Kevin Day had no chill when it came to training, and Robin suspected he had inherited that from his father. Coach Wymack was a morning person, too. They probably talked about smoothies at family breakfasts.

Her Very Normal Day As A Fox Freshman would not be complete without either a fist fight or accidentally witnessing some bad flirting attempts between Jack and Sheena. If only they weren’t terrible humans. So she wasn’t surprised when she almost ran into a distraught Nicky on their floor in the tower.

“Robin!” Nicky exclaimed, eyes glowing in the sunlight streaming through the windows and ruffling his dishevelled hair, “it’s so good you’re here. You’re not allergic, are you?”

“I’m Jack allergic on principle,” Robin answered, looking around Nicky’s shoulder to see. She couldn’t see anyone, which was usual, and the door to the upperclassmen girl’s room was open, which was usual, but the door to her (and Neil’s, and Andrew’s) dorm was open, which was very unusual. “What...”

“Not what I meant,” Nicky chuckled, “but same, Jack is horrible. Did you know that this morning he left his socks in the showers in the changing rooms? But not what I wanted to tell you, actually -”

“Robin?” Matt appeared in the doorway to her dorm, a big smile on his face.

“Yeah?”

“Come in, you gotta help us to convince Renee to convince Andrew to agree to Neil -” Matt gently shoved Nicky to the side and gently dragged Robin towards her dorm.

The sight that greeted her was a lot to take in.

Her dorm was usually quiet and empty, smelling faintly of cigarettes. Andrew and Neil weren’t loud people, and Robin enjoyed that about university. Most of the time, it was like she had her own room, with the added bonus that it wouldn’t get lonely as Andrew and Neil’s conversation filled the silence. Right now, though, the room was full, and all three bean bag chairs in front of the TV were taken, her entire team (minus Jack and Sheena, those fuckers) arranged in a tight circle around something and whispering about it.

No, wait, they weren’t whispering. They were _cooing._

“Uh,” she said and was ignored.

“Come on,” Matt dragged her and elbowed Kevin out of the way so she could get a look, and instantly understood.

Because in the middle of the circle, on the floor, knelt Neil, and in front of him, in a tiny blanket, were the two ugliest cats Robin had ever seen. Neil was currently trying to brush the knotted and dirty fur of one of them with his comb, and Renee was scratching the other under its chin. Neil’s cat had long fur, but it was grey-ish freckled and dirty, and the cat had blood on her face and was hissing. Renee’s cat was light brown and despite it’s obviously missing front paw and one eye missing it was purring softly into Renee’s hand.

They were both so ugly Robin couldn’t help but smile and sigh adoringly. “Babies,” she whispered, even though the cats clearly were no kittens anymore, they were just underfed.

Robin sank to her knees to take over brushing the hissing cat’s hair, as Neil was clearly struggling (his hands were clawed bloody) and Robin could feel herself smile. “You’re so adorable, young Sir,” she whispered to the cat and tried to continue brushing the knots out of its fur.

Someone hissed, but Robin paid it no mind.

“Shut up Aaron,” Allison hissed back, quitely.

“Robin, Neil should totally keep them, right?” Renee inquired quietly after Allison, Kevin and Dan and Matt were done cooing at the purr the cats produced.

“Absolutely,” Robin said, “they’re ours now.”

“No they’re not,” Andrew said with more conviction than Robin thought he’d have about anything unrelated to Neil or Kevin or Exy.

“Huh?” Robin looked up and oh. So that was what Matt and Nicky had meant?

Andrew was sitting alone on a beanbag chair, his arms crossed, _glaring_ at both Neil and the cats. The cute, adorable cats that Neil must have acquired somehow, possibly illegally -

“Neil,” Robin asked, “did you find these cute babies?”

Neil smiled like he was a cat and just brought home a dead bird – a big dead bird. “I did,” he said. “I… found… them by accident, if you would believe that. There really is nobody who will come looking for them. Now.”

The crazy thought crossed Robin’s mind that this indeed sounded a bit like Neil was hinting at having murdered someone, but that was ridiculous, and the cat was _soft_ under her fingers. Well, no, actually, her fur was still sticky and patchy even and it reminded Robin a bit of a cactus.

“I’m going to keep them,” Neil said proudly.

“No you’re not,” Andrew replied, but his brow was twitching which meant he wouldn’t physically harm the cats anytime soon.

“But Andrew!” Robin said, cupping her cat in her hands and lifting it in her salty roommate’s direction. “Isn’t this the cutest thing you’ve ever seen?”

Andrew did not blink.

“I’m with my brother on this,” Aaron spoke up. “I don’t like these cats.”

“Shut up Aaron,” Allison hissed, louder this time. Aaron yelped in pain.

“Hm,” Kevin muttered. “I’m pretty sure it’s illegal to have pets in the dorms but...”

Renee smiled at him, showing her teeth and closing her eyes in a picture of happiness. “Nobody but us needs to know.”

Nicky sighed deeply.

This was… Robin really did not expect this, but who could refuse those two ugly furry things that dirtied the dorm room floor? “This one hisses so adorably,” Robin said, “Neil, have you thought of names yet?”

Neil smiled as Andrew hissed again. “Didn’t you call this one ‘Sir’ earlier?”

Andrew made a loud noise and got up, storming into the bedroom. The door slammed shut. Neil kept smiling, which meant Andrew wasn’t too offended, so Robin smiled too.

“Sir is good,” Renee murmured. “Should we call this one King, then?”

They ended up keeping the cats.

* * *

Aaron was sitting under a tree outside their dorm, looking absolutely dead inside. Aaron looking dead inside was pretty much standard. Aaron sitting under a tree was a bit outside the norm. Aaron sitting under a tree which held a hissing Andrew in its branches was further outside the norm. Not even close to the weirdest thing the twins had done, but still not normal.

Neil stopped a short distance away so he wouldn’t have to crane his neck to look at Andrew.

“Why?” He didn’t even bother finishing his question. The meaning should be obvious enough given the situation, and he really didn’t have the energy for this shit.

“Does it even fucking matter? Get me down.” If the obvious terror in Andrew’s eyes hadn’t been so concerning, the whole situation might have been entertaining.

Aaron sighed. “He was being an asshole, so I threw his car keys. They got stuck in the tree, and the genius over there decided to climb up and get them, and now he’s stuck too.”

Neil sighed, running through all the possibilities in his mind. He could climb the tree, but he wasn’t sure he could safely bring them both down, especially as frozen as Andrew seemed to be. Suddenly, he got an idea. It was a terrible one, but it was the best he had.

“Wait here,” he told the twins. Not like Andrew was going anywhere soon.

He ran up to their dorm and grabbed Kevin’s mattress off his bed frame and started dragging it out of the dorm, down the hall then down the stairs. Neil could hear Kevin shouting after him, but didn’t really care.

He dragged the mattress under where Andrew was in the tree.

When Aaron stood and asked, “Is that… Kevin’s mattress?” Neil looked behind him. Ah, the dinosaur sheets. That’s how he recognized it.

“Yes. He deserves it.” Aaron didn’t even ask why, nodding sagely and humming.

Turning back to the task at hand, Neil grasped one of the lower branches and swung himself into the tree. With some careful maneuvering and a few scrapes and scratches, Neil was soon up near Andrew. Not on the same branch since that would probably cause it to snap and them both to fall as thin as the limbs were, but close enough.

“Why do you do this to yourself?”

“He threw my car keys. I was already up here before I even remembered I’m afraid of heights,” Andrew hissed.

Neil sighed and leaned over to press a kiss to Andrew’s forehead. “Idiot.”

Andrew huffed softly, and they both ignored Aaron making gagging sounds at them from the ground. After some cajoling and only a little bit of forcefully yanking Andrew from his perch, Neil started slowly guiding him down the tree. Once Andrew got moving, he seemed competent enough, clambering down gracefully, if a bit stiffly, despite his short limbs. However, once he reached the lowest branch, Andrew froze up again. Neil hopped down first, landing safely on Kevin’s now dirty mattress.

“C’mon. It’ll be fine.” Andrew glared at him; ignoring that, Neil reached out a hand toward him. “It’s not even that far. Plus there’s a mattress. Don’t you wanna get dirty shoe prints all over Kevin’s mattress?” Still getting no response, Neil moved on to the next obvious line of reasoning. “I won’t let you get hurt. Can’t have my best goalie breaking his arm in the middle of the season.” That got a reaction.

Andrew’s nostrils flared and he scoffed. “Junkie.”

Ignoring Neil’s outstretched hand completely, Andrew jumped down and somehow landed silently on the creaky dorm bed. He grabbed Neil by the jaw and turned his face towards him.

“Yes or no?” 

Aaron started making gagging noises and sticking his fingers in his mouth like he was going to make himself throw up behind Andrew.

Ignoring Aaron, Neil said, “Yes,” though with Andrew still holding his face, it sounded more like _yesh_. He didn’t care much because Andrew was dragging him down into a kiss.

Aaron stomped off, grumbling to no one in particular. Neil hummed into the kiss. Pulling back, he looked over Andrew’s face. He seemed much more relaxed and was blinking slowly at Neil.

“I thought cats were supposed to be good at climbing trees.” Neil hedged. Andrew just hummed. He continued, “Supposed to land on their feet too.”

Andrew hummed. “I didn’t. Once.” With that, he headed back into the dorm. Neil followed. Silently, he went up the stairs and kept going up once they reached their floor. Once they reached the roof, Andrew sat down on the edge, lighting two cigarettes, and handing one over to Neil.

Voice calm, perhaps a little too calm, Andrew began telling Neil a story. A story about a strange boy that loved to climb trees and could jump from seemingly impossible heights and land unscathed. And about the one time he didn’t. About the consequences of falling. Of being bed-bound with a broken leg and a broken arm. Of being unable to fight back. By the time Andrew was done, Neil’s nails were digging into his palms. He had nothing to say that would help, nothing he could do that would change the past. And as much as he wished he could kill Drake, the bastard was already dead, and necromancy was not part of his skill set. So he offered Andrew his hand, which Andrew readily took and held tight, a small comfort with minimal contact.

He took a drag of his cigarette and breathed out, “119%” with the smoke.

Neil was swimming in his own sweat from the South Carolina humidity by the time they headed inside. His palm was hot and wet where Andrew’s had touched it, but it was worth it. He still wiped his hand on his jorts repeatedly.

“You two were gone a while,” Aaron said from a bean bag chair as soon as they came into the dorm.

Andrew walked away, completely ignoring his twin.

“We were on the roof,” Neil responded.

Aaron looked physically pained. “Say no more. Please. I will actually pay you to stop talking now.”

Neil rolled his eyes at Aaron’s melodrama. “Nothing happened. Not like you’re thinking anyways. Why would I tell you even if we did do something?”

“I know way too much about Dan and Matt’s sex life. I’ve been traumatized, “ Aaron said with a shudder.

Neil sat down on the other bean bag chair. “Matt never told me about any of that.”

“Probably because he considers you his adopted baby brother,” Aaron said with a huff, rolling his eyes.

Nicky came in and sprawled out on the floor in front of them. “Aw, c’mon. It’s het sex! You like het sex! You can’t tell me you don’t like hearing about Matt’s Massive Schlong™.” Neil could practically hear the capitalization.

With a disgusted noise, Aaron got up and went to the kitchen, leaving Nicky behind snickering. Andrew returned and quickly took Aaron’s seat, looking smug.

When Aaron returned with a beer and saw Andrew in his spot, he froze before wordlessly throwing up his arms and sitting down on the floor next to Nicky.

No one paid Kevin any mind when he came in dirty and sweaty, grumbling about inconsiderate assholes as he dragged his mattress in or when he came back through the common area, still grumbling, sheets balled up in his hand. Except Aaron. He may have snickered.

* * *

“Andrew, I’m home!” Neil called into their shared flat. He gently let the door click closed and toed off his shoes. “I bought that ice-cream you liked!”

Silence greeted him, but that wasn’t much unusual. Maybe Andrew was sleeping, or out on a walk. They both had two weeks free of Exy practise, but that didn’t mean they didn’t go to the fitness students two blocks away. Neil hummed to himself as he put the groceries away in the kitchen. He walked past his phone on the counter, choosing to ignore any and all messages and notifications he might have. In the door to the living room he stopped.

Before him, on the carpet, Andrew sat surrounded by yarn, impossibly caught in knots. Andrew stared at him, expressionless.

Neil raised his eyebrow. A challenge.

“Just give me my ice cream.”

Then there was shuffling from behind the sofa and Aaron appeared, his hair in disarray but free of any and all yarn. He glared at Andrew and Neil watched in fascination as Aaron’s lips twitched, before Aaron determinedly forced his face into a calm expression. “I want ice cream too.”

“You have dust on your sweater,” Neil said and headed back to get the ice cream for his husband and brother-in-law.

When he returned with the ice cream, Sir was peeking out of the bathroom as if to check if it was safe to come out. They settle on the carpet, each with their own bowl of ice cream (though Neil’s is sugar free and came recommended by Kevin Day himself).

“Is Kaitlyn around?” Neil asked at last.

“Hmmpf,” Aaron said and swallowed. “She volunteered to cover a shift at the hospital for her friend. I told her I’d do it for her, but she nearly murdered me with a fork and told me being three months pregnant does not necessarily mean she isn’t able to work.”

Andrew slurped a bite of ice cream off his spoon. “Ugh. Babies.”

“Hm,” Neil mused, hiding his smile. King was curling up in his lap and Sir sat down next to Andrew, headbutting his thigh. Andrew reached out and patted Sir. The cats were almost fifteen years old now, and Neil sometimes found himself wondering about the average lifespan of house cats and if he should look it up in the library. But aside from King’s tendency to eat too much too fast and then spit it all out again, they seemed fine. Neil and Andrew just needed to pay attention when feeding him, and their vet had confidence this wasn’t life-threatening.

“What,” Andrew deadpanned.

“I’m just thinking,” Neil said, “that maybe in a few years...”

Andrew glared.

“Yes, Neil, tell me more,” Aaron said, obviously only to spite his brother but eh, Neil was looking for ways to bring this up Anyway.

“Maybe we can look into adoption, too,” Neil said. “I called the FBI a few days ago, and they said that despite our criminal records, if we agree on a few conditions we can at least become a short-time foster family. We don’t need to decide now,” Neil added.

Andrew turned his attention back to his ice cream, but Neil knew this wasn’t a no.

A few minutes later, which Aaron spent in silence in a show of respect for a touchy subject, the doorbell rang.

“Are we expecting anyone?” Neil asked.

“Kaitlyn said she’d bring cake,” Aaron said.

Kaitlyn was wearing jogging pants and a sweater, and pressed a store bought cake in Neil’s arms. “I know you like to eat healthy, but this is as much for me as it is for our husbands,” she said, smiling sweetly.

Neil accepted the kiss on the cheek and let her in. Kaitlyn didn’t look like it, but she could be quite scary. It was to be expected, really. She did marry Aaron Minyard.

Surrounded by what Neil considered his family, the familiar spark of happiness brightened in his chest. Playing Exy had been a good idea after all, and Neil had no regrets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap! Please don't find us.


End file.
